I really enjoyed reading Roxanne Gay’s piece on pop culture and women’s sexuality being taken advantage of. What especially struck me in the piece was her shift between topics. Her discussion ranges in topics, from music, to abortion, to male persistence. It was very refreshing to read such a wholly encapsulating piece that seemed to summarize the majority of problems that women face in the US lately. However, I was hoping for a deeper analysis of the song in the title – Blurred Lines. In my sophomore year of high school I analyzed the lyrics of Adam Levine’s “Animals” to find more and more oppressive language and become horrified about the reality of the song’s message. Although it was not clear that Gay would be doing the same with Blurred Lines, this was still implied.

Aside from this, I was very impressed by Gay’s writing. Specifically, her discussion about abortion resonated with me. Growing up in Dubai, questions to pro-choice vs pro-life were not ever debated, unless behind closed doors and only within the company of liberal-minded people. This is because the UAE follows Sharia law, therefore abortions are illegal and not discussed further. It was very refreshing to read about the topic in more detail with a clear example of why being pro-choice is not a bad thing. Overall, her argument was sarcastic and fun to read, but slightly convoluted because she discussed many topics in a short space.

When reading the Aziz Ansari article, I was very interested in finding out about why the conflict about the scandal was prevalent. After the Harvey Weinstein scandal, I would think that most allegations would be taken seriously, however it was pertinent in the article that there was more controversy about the scandal than I thought. I was especially struck by the mention of Ansari’s private vs public persona, which I would definitely like to analyze further in day-to-day social groups.